Aaron Hernandez pleads not guilty to murder, is held without bail

Two days before his former teammates open their 2013 NFL season at Buffalo, Aaron Hernandez appeared Friday in handcuffs to be arraigned on first-degree murder and firearm-related felonies in Fall River Superior Court. Hernandez, 23, the former Patriots All-Pro tight end who dressed in the same black s...

Two days before his former teammates open their 2013 NFL season at Buffalo, Aaron Hernandez appeared Friday in handcuffs to be arraigned on first-degree murder and firearm-related felonies in Fall River Superior Court.

Hernandez, 23, the former Patriots All-Pro tight end who dressed in the same black suit and open-collared white shirt he wore in previous court appearances, pleaded not guilty to all six counts against him. He stood stoic throughout the 20-minute hearing, at one point mouthing “I love you” in the direction of his fiance, Shayanna Jenkins, whose name previously surfaced as a person of interest in the case. Jenkins sat in the courtroom next to Hernandez’ relatives, who later left the courthouse without talking to reporters.

Attorneys did not argue bail, and agreed before the hearing that Hernandez will continue to be held without bail, without prejudice, at the Bristol County House of Corrections in Dartmouth. Hernandez’ attorneys have the option to argue for bail at a later date.

Charles Rankin, one of Hernandez’ three defense lawyers, said after the arraignment that he believes Hernandez will be found not guilty, and that prosecutors have not presented “one shred of evidence” that proves the former football star orchestrated the June 16 slaying of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro.

“We’re confident at the end of the trial that Aaron will be exonerated,” said Rankin, who compared the arraignment to a “kickoff.” He also said that “unnamed sources” in the media are “not authoritative” and asked people to “keep an open mind” about the case.

Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter declined to comment on the evidence, but said First Assistant District Attorney William McCauley presented the prosecution’s “very detailed” case during two consecutive bail hearings from June 26-27.

“I think that the evidence speaks for itself,” said Sutter, who refused to say whether investigators have found the alleged murder weapon. “The investigation continues as you can see and continues rapidly,” Sutter said.

Hernandez is scheduled to return to court Oct. 9 for a pretrial conference where the court will review defense motions that seek to compel prosecutors to preserve all evidence in the investigation, including materials and information obtained by out-of-state police detectives in Connecticut and Florida. Sutter said Friday the issue is to what extent Bristol County authorities can compel out-of-state agencies to preserve all physical evidence, including investigators’ notes.

“The commonwealth is responsible for maintaining the integrity of that evidence,” Hernandez’ defense attorney Jamie Sultan said. Sutter said his office will contact the outside agencies to request that they preserve all evidence.

Meanwhile, Hernandez’ defense team also filed a motion to prevent all parties from issuing statements outside the courtroom that could be prejudicial to Hernandez. A lower court judge issued a gag order prohibiting attorneys from commenting on evidence at Hernandez’ June 26 arraignment in Attleboro District Court.

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On Aug. 22, a Bristol County grand jury indicted Hernandez of first-degree murder, unlicensed possession of a firearm, unlicensed possession of a rifle without an FID card, unlicensed possession of a large-capacity weapon or feeding device and two counts of unlicensed possession of ammunition without an FID card. The indictment transferred the case to Superior Court, where serious felonies are adjudicated.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Hernandez would be sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole. The New England Patriots released Hernandez after his arrest on June 26.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd’s murder because he was angry with Lloyd, 27, a semi-professional football player, after an argument they had two nights earlier at a Boston nightclub. Lloyd was shot five times with a .45-caliber handgun, and his body was discovered June 17 in an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez’ home in North Attleborough.

Video surveillance and cell phone records, prosecutors said, showed Hernandez texted two alleged associates from Connecticut — Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace — to meet him in Massachusetts. The trio is said to have picked Lloyd up at home around 2:30 a.m. on June 17 and discussed the nightclub incident. Lloyd was nervous and messaged a relative, at one point texting “NFL” and “just so u know,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors allege that Hernandez, Ortiz and Wallace brought Lloyd to the industrial park. A few minutes later, Hernandez, Ortiz, and Wallace left the park and arrived at the former Patriot’s home without Lloyd, prosecutors said, citing surveillance video footage. The video is also said to show Hernandez carrying a gun while leaving his house and telling someone that he was mad because he couldn’t trust anybody, according to court documents.

Investigators later found a magazine to a .45-caliber handgun inside a Humvee registered to Hernandez and recovered three boxes of .45-caliber ammunition as well as ammunition for a rifle after they executed search warrants at a Franklin condominium Hernandez rented. Court documents also indicate police found Hernandez’ and Lloyd’s fingerprints in a rental car Hernandez drove on the night of Lloyd’s shooting.

Prosecutors have not identified who they believe shot Lloyd, though court documents indicate Ortiz told investigators that Wallace said Hernandez admitted to shooting Lloyd.

Wallace, 41, was indicted last month on a charge of accessory after the fact. He was held on $500,000 bail after his arraignment in Attleboro District Court. His arraignment date has not been scheduled in Fall River Superior Court.

Ortiz, 27, is being held without bail on illegal possession of a firearm charges. He has not been indicted.

Hernandez’ cousin, Tanya Cummings-Singleton, has been indicted for her alleged refusal to testify before the grand jury. At her Aug. 23 arraignment in Fall River Superior Court, she was ordered held without bail, without prejudice, and is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 3.